New Temporary Graduate Visa Changes

Recently immigration announced that there will be some changes. These changes are definitely for the better and are to encourage more international students to study in Australia.

These changes include:

• The stay period on the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa for Masters by Coursework graduates, will increase permanently from two to three years. This will come into effect from 1 December 2021
• As a concession during the COVID-19 pandemic, the stay period on the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485) visa Graduate Work stream, will increase from 18 to 24 months. This will come into effect from 1 Dec 2021

This has already come into effect and we have had numerous students granted the extended visa which is great! It is also very helpful for a student to obtain PR as they get extra time to meet the requirements. Especially for trade students who need extra time to work in their industry.

• As a concession during the COVID-19 pandemic, Application requirements will be streamlined by removing the requirement for graduates to nominate an occupation from the skills occupation list. This will come into effect from 1 July 2022.

For this, we need more information. It looks like students who meet the Australian Study Requirement will be eligible for a grad visa. But I do have a few questions.

• Why not bring it in immediately and when will this concession finish?
• Does your studies need to be related to your occupation?
• Do any 2-year Diploma courses or package of courses get you the Temporary Graduate (subclass 485)?

Honestly, there is no official legislation out on this and until we can review this it will be hard to advise. However, there are clearly some massive winners here. Some courses that initially come to mind with even stronger PR prospects are:

• Community Service Students
• Diploma of Nursing Students
• Diploma of Horticulture/Agriculture

The reason we highlighted these is that it is relatively easy to pass a skill assessment in these occupations. They are also highly in demand in almost every state list in Australia, therefore, have very promising migration prospects. But, students still need to package these courses in a 2-year course package to meet the requirements. 

We will continue to make a few more videos explaining the steps after a graduate visa in order to obtain PR, so be sure to check these out.

As always, any questions please never hesitate to contact the team at Pathway to Aus on the phone, website Facebook, or Instagram Thanks!